US investigators pursue attempted rape case

US investigators are still examining whether a forceed sexual encounter took place between former IMF chief
Dominique Strauss-Kahn
and a maid, despite questions about her credibility.

The woman's lawyer says the authorities have sufficient physical evidence to proceed with the case, including proof that she was assaulted, and Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, confirmed that the investigation would continue until "all relevant facts" had been uncovered.

Lawyer Ken Thompson said on July 1 the authorities had photographs of bruises sustained by his client, as well as other physical evidence.

But many legal experts believe the case is set to collapse after revelations that the 33-year-old woman had repeatedly lied to the authorities about her past. She is also said to have discussed making money out of her accusations, although police say an investigation did not produce any evidence to support this.

James Cox, a law professor at Duke University, said that even if more evidence was to emerge in the woman's favour, the number of lies she had told prosecutors would make it hard to convince the jury that she is a credible witness. "It's hard to go forward when your witness has been so discredited. My hunch is that if he wasn't such a high-profile figure, these charges would have been dropped already."

Fresh allegations about the woman's private life surfaced in New York tabloids over the weekend, amid claims that senior US prosecutors clashed about the veracity of her story from the outset.

Last week it emerged that the alleged victim had changed her story about the attack after testifying to the grand jury. She originally testified that she was attacked in Strauss-Kahn's suite between 12pm and 12.30pm. She said she left the room looking for help after the attack. Strauss-Kahn left the Sofitel near Times Square at around the same time.

The woman later changed her story to say that she cleaned another room after the attack. But timed room-key evidence from the hotel is believed to support her original story.

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Thompson was unavailable for comment yesterday. "The victim made some mistakes, but that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim," he said on Friday.

He accused the district attorney's office of "laying a foundation" for dismissing the case, and said that district attorney Vance was "afraid" of proceeding with the case after losing two other high-profile cases.

Thompson accused the prosecutors of mistreating his client by, among other things, "screaming and yelling" at her.

Vance did not respond to the detail of the allegations, but said: "We have and always will treat victims of sexual assault as a priority."